ENRICH in the USA

Project Information

ENRICH in the USA

Grant agreement ID: 101004518

DOI

10.3030/101004518

Project closed

EC signature date 13 October 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Europe In A Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative And Reflective Societies

Total cost

€ 1 000 000,00

EU contribution

€ 1 000 000,00

Coordinated by

GAC
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ENRICH in the USA (ENRICH in the USA)

Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

ENRICH in the USA is the follow-up initiative of NearUS, that started in 2017, aiming to establish a Network of European Research and Innovation Centres and Hubs throughout the United States of America. The mission of ENRICH in the USA has been to provide standardised as well as various tailor-made (i.e. smart/industry specialization) internationalisation support and education services to European entrepreneurs and innovators, to help them accelerate their access to the US market, and maximise their chances of success; offering programs, curriculums, and events, as well as a unique access to incredibly performing tech ecosystems.

Services of ENRICH in the USA , organised around three pillars – Education & Connection, Market Validation , University Incubation - target organisations and project owners with commercially viable technologies at different maturity levels.

Overall objectives have been:
1. To support transfer, adaptation, deployment and/or internationalisation of European innovation to the US market, benefitting Europeans innovation actors
2. To create a sustainable network of centres and hubs that provide support to all EU innovation actors under one umbrella – and supports underserved entrepreneurs in Europe
3. To achieve sustainability of ENRICH in the USA Network

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

ENRICH in the USA has established itself as a major contact point for European entrepreneurs and innovation actors seeking to grow and reinforce collaboration across the Atlantic. ENRICH in the USA has established two Centres – the San Francisco Centre: also called the ENRICH in the USA West Coast Centre and the Boston Centre: also called the ENRICH in the USA East Coast Centre - and Landing Hubs across the US, located in incubators at partner universities.

The main result is a strong trusted ENRICH in the USA community created in the project:
• over 300 people improved their capacities and were made aware of ENRICH in the USA activities through training, including more than 12 webinars and workshops, 4 Country Days etc; ESDP young researchers and innovators;
• 4 active Hubs, 2 Centres (San-Francisco, Boston) and 1 headquarter (Temple, Philadelphia);
• 7 virtual and 26 physical paid soft-landings to support the companies (3+ months with average 18-months duration);
• industry focused immersion programmes with 81 activities/events during 3 years, in which 5135 participants took part, both Europeans innovators and American mentors or hosts;
• a network of 30 universities and 60+ US Ambassadors;
• a community platform Enrichers.gi2.io with more than 1200 people, 600 startups and 400 partners in the on-live community;
• more than 60 Ambassadors in Europe;
• ENRICH GLOBAL (EG), a non-for-profit international association focused on the globalization of innovations, created in Europe with input from different ENRICH-family projects and other organisations.
• To support the Network and its services, multiple content assets were developed, including 14 studies (e-health, AI, cybersecurity…), videos, the Entrepreneurial Skills Development Programme (ESDP) etc.

There results were obtained thanks to more than hundred specific activities implemented in the project: events, trainings, mentorships, Country Days etc., with 2398 European entrepreneurs and innovators, supporting their internationalization towards the USA, and reached many more through its online tools, studies and guidance.
Total revenue reached by ENRICH in the USA Network (HQ Temple University) by the end of the project is $431,179.38 for virtual and J-1 Soft Landing in total at M36, and $54,447.93 of sponsorships from Ambassadors and Service Providers around both Hubs and Centres.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ENRICH in the USA has successfully built three categories of viable services, Immersion Programs, Virtual Landing and Soft Landing, which the consortium team believes will be sustainable beyond the project end. Through these services ENRICH in the USA has been creating a significant impact i.e. reinforcing cooperation between European and US innovators, as well as contributing to a stronger presence of European organizations in the innovation ecosystem of the USA, procuring benefits back in Europe. Even though it is too early to evaluate the exact impact on a general level, multiple success stories illustrate the fact that ENRICH in the USA has made a strong difference for some European entrepreneurs and companies, especially those who have participated in several services and thus followed the “entrepreneur’s journey” throughout several steps. Leads still stemming from the previous phase, NearUS (2017-2020), show that more impact can be expected over time.

The ENRICH in the USA Network been able to establish itself as central contact point for European entrepreneurs and innovators, deploying important efforts on the recognition of the branding in the community. It was setup in a collaborative approach based on a pilot phase and has become a self-sustainable initiative. It is a unique combination of competences in innovation support services, business development, networking and support to policy makers.

The ENRICH initiative is highly innovative, and significantly differs from “classical” Horizon 2020 projects. It has developed both organisational innovation, i.e. a new organisational method in order to improve the use of knowledge, workflows efficiency and quality of its services, and also englobes processes leading to the establishment of new management methods, as well as service innovation, benefitting both European research and innovation organisations and the project partners’ competitive edge.

The customers are offered a unique ENRICH in the USA journey based on a demand-driven set of services to support them at each step in their development phase. The core service relating to soft landing in sector-specific target markets has been implemented thanks to a dense network and close partnership with university-based incubators all across the USA. The overall aim was to add value to the existing initiatives on the market and numerous services have been implemented in co-organisation with renown partners, both in the EU and in the USA.

ENRICH in the USA is now well established and continues its efforts to be recognized as the entry point for European entrepreneurs and innovation actors internationalising to the US, providing valuable services to clients. In spite of the project end, many services of ENRICH in the USA continue with Temple and partner universities, and also via ENRICH GLOBAL international non for profit association and its members. ENRICH GLOBAL www.enrich-global.eu plans to support further ENRICH in the USA activities on the EU side and currently it evolves as an independent entity and already includes over 30 members from 40 countries.

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